Braves’ Starter Spencer Strider To Begin Season On IL

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by Matthew MendivesMarch 25, 2026, 1:40 am >

Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider will begin the season on the IL with an oblique strain.

The severity of the strain has not been revealed. He’s expected to miss a minimum of two weeks.

Strider pitched three games in spring training and had a 3.24 ERA. Last season, he had a 4.45 ERA in 23 starts.

Strider’s career got off to a very strong start. In 2022, he had a 2.67 ERA to finish second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. In 2023, he had 281 strikeouts to lead the National League. Although his ERA went up, his FIP was a National League-leading 2.85. This suggests that Strider was getting unlucky.

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His 2024 season ended after just two starts due to Tommy John surgery. In 2025, he made his season debut on April 16, a little over a year after his surgery. Strider pitched six innings and gave up two runs to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Strider’s strikeouts per nine went down from 13.5 in 2023 to 9.4 in 2025. His walks per nine went up from 2.8 in 2023 to 3.7 in 2025. Although some pitchers can return to form quickly from Tommy John surgery, it’s not always possible.

Strider looked like he was returning to form in spring training. However, he felt a pull in his arm during a minor league game against the Boston Red Sox on March 17. Strider was supposed to start on March 23 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was placed on the IL instead.

Chris Sale is a reliable starter for the Braves at the top of the rotation, but the rest of their rotation is questionable. Reynaldo Lopez has mostly been a reliever the past two seasons, Grant Holmes is solid but nothing amazing, Bryce Elder has struggled to find consistency after his rookie season, and the No. 5 starter spot is currently up in the air.